Finding Us, Chapter 5 : I'll be your Rapunzel if you'll be my Flynn

After Husband's fantastical book date a couple of weeks ago, it was my turn to plan something out of the ordinary for us to do together. I had heard from a few friends about this amazing Lantern Fest and knew that we absolutely had to do this. So a couple of months ago I hopped online and bought our tickets.

Husband had no clue what we were doing tonight, which was a feat in itself, because he has a funny way of finding things out when I want to surprise him. I think he was probably James Bond in his previous life. Anyway, he was pretty excited when we pulled up to the spot and saw all of the Lantern Fest signs. I said to the Husband, "Tonight, we are recreating Tangled. I'm Rapunzel and you're Flynn." Luckily he obliged my crazy.

Neither of us had any idea what to expect or what we were about to experience, it was something new that we were sharing together, which added to the specialness. We were led with hoards of people over to some white tents to get our supplies which ended up being our lanterns, 2 small boxes and 2 sticks.

I had heard that the place is filled with tons of fire pits and that you want to get there early to snag one. Unfortunately, if you know Us, we don't get anywhere early, so we ended up sharing a pit with a really nice couple and it all worked out! We set up our camping chairs by the fire pit and decided to walk the grounds and take it all in. There were food trucks, photo booths, face painting, live music, bounce houses and more! Groups of people clumped together on the ground laying on blankets, reading books, sharing food, some sitting in pop-up tents, and it was during our aimless strolling that my mama heart really started missing the boys even more and I wanted them there to experience it with us. I would LOVE to take them next year!

After chowing down on some Waffle Love, we headed back to our pit and pulled out our supply boxes that they had given us when we arrived.

Inside there were graham crackers, mallows, a lighter and a marker for decorating the lanterns. I am a girl who is all about the little details of things, so this little box made me giddy. We decided now was the best time to write on our lanterns while it was still light. While a lot of people were drawing some of the most beautiful designs on their lanterns, we decided to write some simple messages to the Universe instead. While I went for a more subliminal storybook theme, Husband sent out some powerful affirmations and a sweet hello to his Dad and our baby girl in Heaven.

At this point in the night, the sun finally started to set and we were all given firewood for our fire pits and chocolate to make s'mores. Hello again details!! We roasted mallows like nobody's business.

As dusk set over the crowd of people, everything seemed to be covered in the most splendid shade of pink. Most days we don't have the opportunity to sit and watch the sunset because we are in the middle of putting our kids to bed, cleaning up dinner, and preparing for the next day's to-do's, so being able to slow down and actually watch the sky being covered with the blanket of night was amazing.

We were surrounded by specks of light from several tiki torches, and the atmosphere was unreal. Someone said to me that it's like being in a different world, and that's all I can come up with too. As everyone was instructed to light their lanterns together, what happened next was the most chaotic calm that I have ever been a part of. Husband and I finally got our lanterns lit and ready for their ride in the sky.

I will not even pretend that I can describe what happened next in silly little words, because I cannot. Other than telling you that it was the most surreal, straight from a Disney movie experience that I have had, my words would all fall short. The pictures do not do it justice, and I feel like I'm sharing only a blink from an amazing reel of video, but all I have to share with you are our secondhand memories.

Storms of lanterns floated overhead and I think we both were mesmerized. Awestruck. When the song from Tangled started playing I'm pretty sure I shed a tear or two. It was indescribable.

And so we ended our evening feeling just like Flynn and Rapunzel. In the actual movie, Flynn shows Rapunzel all about taking chances in life, and how doing things you wouldn't normally do are good for your soul. And Rapunzel teaches Flynn about love, caring, and the fun-side of life. In the end they change each other for the better, which is exactly what I feel Husband and I do for each other. As long as we are both willing to really see each other, there will always be magic to be had.

l can't imagine a more perfect evening spent together. This is definitely one for the books.

"All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you." --Tangled

To find out where you can attend a Lantern Fest near you, check out this link: